2026 Leadership Symposium Recap: When to Evolve — and When to Let Go
An honest conversation about risk, reinvention, and the courage it takes to lead.
On March 12, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Forum's 2026 Leadership Symposium took place.
More than 250 executives, founders, and emerging leaders gathered beneath PAFA's storied ceilings for an evening centered on one of the most quietly urgent questions in leadership today: how do you move forward with confidence when the path isn't fully clear?
PAFA President & CEO Kristen Shepherd opened the night with remarks that set a gracious and grounding tone — a fitting beginning in a space that has long stood at the intersection of tradition and creative courage. Forum President & CEO Meghan Pierce followed, bringing the vision and warmth that has come to define The Forum's community.
The Fireside Chat
The conversation between Amy Smilovic (Founder, Tibi · Author, Almost Reckless) and Angela Val (President & CEO, Visit Philadelphia) was, by every account, honest and refreshing. Amy drew from her forthcoming book, Almost Reckless, to introduce Creative Pragmatism — a framework for making bold decisions without abandoning strategic clarity. The idea: that the best leaders trust instinct without discarding structure, and take risks that bring teams along rather than fracture them. One metaphor cut through: If your job (or your strategy, or your identity as a leader) is a shirt, when do you simply alter it? When do you cut off the sleeves? And when do you let it go entirely?
The Fireside Chat (cont'd)
It's a deceptively simple question with significant weight. Amy's answer reframed evolution not as a failure of commitment, but as its own form of leadership. Knowing when to move on, from a role, a strategy, even a version of yourself, requires the same courage and clarity as knowing when to stay and build.
Angela brought the question into sharp, local focus: what does it mean to take risks when the brand you're stewarding isn't just a company, but a place — a city approaching its 250th anniversary, carrying the full weight of history while leaning toward what comes next?
The dialogue moved through instinct and principles, identity and adjectives, fearlessness without recklessness, and the particular complexity of taking bold action when you're responsible for other people's livelihoods and futures.
With Gratitude
Deep gratitude to The Forum team — Sarah Boorboor, Allie Mullins, and Olivia Rettstatt — for their care in program curation and event production.
A special thank you to Gabriella Rudnick and Karin Copeland at CreateXChange for their partnership in speaker curation and for helping bring this vision to life.
And to every leader in that room: thank you for showing up, for listening, for asking hard questions, and for being part of a community that believes the future is something to build — not wait for.
We hope to see you at our next Signature Event!
